


Apple and Petunia

by Axolotluv



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Character Death, Corruption (Steven Universe), Gore, Harm To Child, Shattering (Steven Universe), Violence, dagger - Freeform, knife
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Axolotluv/pseuds/Axolotluv
Summary: Apple decides it's time to fix his mistake from the past and bring Spinel back from the dead. Unfortunately, Spinel isn't here to play nice after being murdered so she creates many problems for Apple and his son.
Kudos: 4





	1. Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING - Blood, Violence, Gore, Character death, Choking, Hallucination, Shattering, and Harm to a child
> 
> This story takes place 3 years after Spinel arrived on Earth. Apple is 19 and Petunia is 5.

The summer breeze blew through the house. The front door and windows were both open, seeing as it was a really hot afternoon. Petunia was sitting on the floor by the coffee table drawing a picture of himself with a flower crown made of what looked like yellow buttercups. He hummed quietly to himself with a bright happy smile on his face. The song was aimless, but he started to make up a melody that he repeated a few times. He began to draw a butterfly resting on top of one of the flowers on the flower crown. 

" _Butterfly butterfly, give me a smile,_ " Petunia quietly sang in the tune he was previously humming. " _I'll be glad if you stay a while~_ " Petunia giggled to himself as he finished drawing the butterfly. 

He set down his pencil and opened his box of crayons. He now had to pick a color. It didn't take him very long to pick, and soon he was coloring the butterfly a solid tiffany blue. Petunia pouted a little bit when he noticed that some of the colors he already used had smudged together, but he shrugged it off and went back to coloring. A couple of minutes later, Petunia finished his drawing.

"All done!" Petunia announced to himself before looking around the room. Now it was time to show his dad the drawing he made. Petunia stood up with his drawing and held it carefully so it wouldn't smudge anymore. 

The search for his father began. Petunia wandered around the house. He checked the bathroom, nothing but a leaky sink. He checked his own room. There was a mess of paper, markers, and colored pencils everywhere from his search for art supplies from earlier, but no dad. He checked his dad's room. No dad either, but something was also different. The drawer that Apple, his dad, always kept locked was now open, and a dagger that was normally kept safely on the wall was missing. 

"Dad?"

The house felt silent because of the lack of response to his call, and despite Petunia's presence it also felt empty. Petunia stayed motionless for a few moments but hesitantly crept into the dark room. The only light sneaking it's way in was coming from the windows outside the room. He tip-toed through the bedroom and to the open drawer, curiosity on his mind more than the thought that he was snooping. 

To his disappointment, the drawer was empty, but that only sparked a small amount of curiosity within him. After shrugging it off, Petunia left the room with making as little sound as possible.

He didn't notice that the distraction from his curiosity also allowed him to smudge the drawing a little more. Petunia whined quietly when he looked at his drawing before walking back to the living room where the search for his dad began. Something was different about the room this time. Nothing visually had changed, but the change came from feelings he got from being in the room. Deep down Petunia could feel emotions he knew weren't his own. Dread, guilt, resentment, and most importantly of all, grief. These emotions confused him, as he wasn't really able to recognize them. Guilt maybe, but not at the level he could feel it.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom and Petunia whipped his head around to look at the door. He gulped and approached the bathroom, setting his hand on the door's handle. Was it his dad in there? That was most likely. He tried to open the door to check, but it was locked.

The running water stopped. There were still the quiet sounds of water dripping from the faucet of what seemed to be the bathtub. Petunia put his ear against the door, yet he didn't hear much. He kept his ear against the door and hoped that he wasn't making any sounds so whoever was inside the bathroom wouldn't be alarmed. He heard the pops of three small bottles opening, liquids being poured into the tub, and the familiar sound of a bubble popping. Small pieces of glass falling into hands, the quiet clicking of the shards being reconstructed, and finally something being dunked into the water. 

Petunia furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the door. Having no idea what was going on inside the bathroom made him a bit confused. A quiet gasp came from his dad inside the bathroom. Petunia now had no doubts that it was his dad inside, but he started to think that his dad was not alone as he could hear the sparkling sounds of a gem reforming inside the bathroom.

\------------------ 

A newly reformed Spinel gasped. She quickly covered her gem with her hands on impulse, seeing as her last memory was the horrifying moments of her body falling apart after being shattered while fully formed. 

"Spinel..?" Apple asked, a dagger being held behind his back in case it was needed. 

Spinel took a few moments to compose herself after the initial shock, but soon her eyes locked onto Apple as a glare.

" _You..._ " she hissed with a venomous tone.

Apple took a step backward anxiously and small tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "N-Now now, no need to be hostile...I just want to talk..."  
Spinel stepped out of the tub and shook off any remaining water left on her. She clenched her fists and got ready to attack him anyway. Apple stared at Spinel and tightened his grip on the dagger. He brought the sharp weapon in front of himself and pointed it toward her in a defensive manner. His hands were shaking. 

"You 'just want to talk' huh? What's with the knife then _Universe_?"

When she spoke his name, there was clear hatred in her voice. He knew at that moment that she wasn't going to back down peacefully. Apple's eyes darkened and he took another step back.

"I-I don't want to fight..Please Spinel I just want to apologize to you!" Apple pleaded.

"You can't just apologize after that and expect me to forgive you!" Spinel shouted.

"I really don't want to fight y-"

Apple was cut off as Spinel's fist was rammed into his stomach. He was thrown against the door, breaking through it and himself and his dagger landing in the living room right outside. Petunia was sitting at the couch waiting for his dad to be done with his conversation, but his eyes widened when he saw his dad come flying out of the bathroom. Spinel left the bathroom not long after Apple was hit. She was too engulfed with rage to notice Petunia staring at her in complete shock.

Apple groaned and shakily pushed himself up to sit, but not long after he was up Spinel kicked him in the face. There was a crunch coming from Apple's nose when he was kicked, and he yelped as his body slid backward before holding his nose. Petunia stood up and dropped his drawing. 

"Dad!" Petunia called.

Spinel slowly turned her head to look at Petunia. Her glare was replaced with a twisted smile, which alerted Petunia and he got in a defensive stance.

"Hello there little fellow~" Spinel greeted in a voice that was too sweet and cheery for the situation.

Despite her voice being adorable and playful, there was no doubt that her appearance was intimidating. The artificial smile that she forced on her face was crooked and too wide to be genuine. The tear streaks on her face were a blackness Petunia had never seen on a living being before, and the huge bags under her eyes weren't any better. Her eyes...The pupils were dilated to an unnatural size, just tiny dots inside the pink irises that were fixated on him. A single diagonal white stripe crossed her torso underneath her gem, the white contrasting with the darker Tyrian purple color of her shirt. Her pointy shoulder pads lead to her arms, which were stretching in unnatural ways. One of her gloved hands was extending toward Petunia. It reminded him of old cartoon characters, yet he didn't want to compare one of those friendly faces to this seemingly insane gem. Her hand stopped right over Petunia's tiny head, her palm being much bigger than his tiny child body. 

Petunia's gem faintly glowed as he watched the giant hand stop right over his fragile head. He wanted a bubble right then and there, but alas he couldn't make one on command. His gem was trying, though. It tried and it tried, but due to lack of any training at all his gem failed and its glow faded away. Petunia was shaking in his boots, fearful for the moment Spinel would slam her fist down and crush his skull. His left eye darkened. 

Apple shakily sat up, still holding his nose with one hand. There was blood all over his hands as his nose was bleeding from being broken. He looked at Spinel, but soon after looking at her he noticed Petunia and the situation he was in. 

"N-No, don't hurt him!" Apple shouted, letting go of his nose and attempting to get up onto his feet. "He didn't do anything.."

Spinel brought her attention back to Apple. She unclenched her fist and her hand shrank. She brought her hand down and grabbed Petunia's hood, pulling him upwards. Petunia kicked his feet and attempted to pull his collar down so he wouldn't choke. It was hard for him to breathe, especially since he started to cry and panic. 

"You seem to care about this thing a lot," Spinel said while lifting Petunia off the ground. "It'd be a shame if he got hurt now wouldn't it?"

Apple stood on his feet and took a heavy step toward Spinel, but when he saw the pained look on Petunia's face he stopped. Spinel giggled. Petunia was struggling, swinging his feet around and trying to pull his collar down so he could breathe.

"Dad.." Petunia strained to get out. "H-Help me..”

Spinel gave Petunia a glare, her eyes seemingly filled with rage and insanity. "QUIET PIPSQUEAK!!" she shouted as she shook Petunia around.  
Petunia flinched because of the yell and whimpered. He was dropped onto the floor and he started to take in huge gulps of air, putting his hand on his throat and coughing. Spinel had been hit in the head with a shield. Apple ran toward Spinel and pounced at her from behind, knocking the both of them down. Apple ended up sitting on top of Spinel's back, keeping her down. Out of pure rage, Apple slammed his fists down on the top of Spinel's head. She yelped. While it didn't really do all that much to Spinel, it did scare Petunia. The small child watched his dad hit Spinel after stabilizing his breathing. Apple hadn't really noticed his son's fear, filled with anger, and trying to come up with a plan.

It was too late for that. Spinel had stretched her limbs to lift herself and Apple. It really didn't take all that much effort for Spinel to cause Apple to lose his balance and fall down. Spinel got on her feet and was already prepared to attack Apple again. However, Apple also didn't take very long to recover from the fall. The two met eyes, then they both looked at the dagger on the floor.

Spinel stretched her arm toward the weapon while Apple bolted over to pick it up. Unfortunately, Spinel got to it first. She swung the dagger at Apple. He jumped backward and the dagger missed. Just barely, though, as his jacket was torn by the dagger indicating Spinel had used a lot of force. Apple was prepared for another swing, yet it never came. Spinel decided to attack Petunia, running toward the small hybrid. Spinel had shot her arm at Petunia while running, the sharp end of the dagger aiming toward his chest.

Petunia attempted to dodge, but his fear and hesitation didn't allow him to be successful. Instead of hitting his chest, the dagger was rammed into Petunia's side right underneath his ribcage. The child shrieked and fell to the ground. His scream echoed through the house and pierced through Apple's ears, but it wasn't over yet. Spinel yanked the dagger out of Petunia only to shove it right back into him at a different spot. Blood poured out of the new wounds. The maniacal laughter coming from Spinel sounded distant to Petunia, like an echo. The world felt cold. The world felt dark. It was lonely. The dagger was twisted while still inside his torso before being ripped out once again.

Apple's tears flowed from his eyes as he watched his young child get stabbed multiple times. After the initial shock had been forced away, the hybrid was quickly engulfed in his pink glow. His eyes locked onto Spinel as a target, and when he kicked off the ground to launch himself toward her, there was a **boom** and all of the objects that were behind him had been broken.

As Spinel turned to look at him, Apple had already been a couple of inches away from her in the air. He pounced onto her, making her drop the bloodstained dagger onto the floor. Petunia laid on the ground in a puddle of blood, writhing in agony from the stab wounds. Apple shoved Spinel to the ground and got on top of her. Her eyes widened when she noticed his pink glow and the glare that cut into her deeply. She wanted to get away, she had to. It was too late to make an attempt. 

Apple began to repeatedly punch Spinel in the face, showing no mercy and not holding back. The pink gem whimpered and yelped each time he landed a hit. Apple snapped out of it, but only for a moment. He turned his head and looked at the dagger on the floor and snatched it off the ground. Apple raised the dagger up and his eyes fixated on Spinel's gem. His expression looked robotic, and his eyes...His irises had a light blue tint to them, slightly covering up the regular pink color.

Before he could attack, Petunia quietly whined and struggled to ask for help and the thought of revenge was pushed aside. Apple's eyes returned to normal and he looked at his son. He stood up and kicked Spinel away, shooting a sharp scowl at her. Spinel quickly got up and fled the house, glancing back a couple times in fear of being followed. Apple dropped the dagger and rushed over to Petunia, who was nearly dead. Tears welled up in Apple's eyes and he gave Petunia a hug, kissing his forehead. Petunia whimpered when he was given a hug since the stab wounds were disturbed - but because of the kiss and a couple tears landing on Petunia, he was healed. Petunia finally passed out from all the shock and Apple held him close.

\----------------------------

It had been a few days since the attack from Spinel. Petunia had taken a couple of days to rest before waking up. He wasn't his usual self, though. Petunia was very clingy to his dad and hadn't spoken a word ever since the incident. He also refused to be alone at any time and had started avoiding the living room and bathroom, preferring to go somewhere else if he had to go. Apple had spent a lot of time cleaning up the mess that the fight had made before Petunia woke up, and when he was finally awake Apple wanted to keep his kid safe.

Apple and Petunia spent the afternoon painting upstairs in Petunia's room. The painting they were making together appeared to be them both having a picnic on the beach. It was a nice day, but that would soon change. Apple flinched a little when his phone began to ring in his pocket. He set down his paintbrush and took a step away from the painting, while also assuring Petunia that he wasn't going to leave the room.

Apple took his phone out of his pocket and smiled a little when he noticed it was his dad calling. He answered the phone and held it to his ear. His smile was quickly replaced with a terrified look when he heard the struggling sounds coming from the other side of the call. It sounded like Greg was trying to ask for help, but his voice was raspy and he didn't sound like he was able to breathe.

"Dad?! Do you need help- Are you at the carwash?!" Apple paced around the room.

He was answered with a short yes and a gasp for air.

"I-I'm on my way, hang in there I'll be over in a minute!" Apple looked at Petunia, yet kept the phone up to his ear. "Coren, I have to go to the carwash real quick ok?"

Petunia looked at his dad and tilted his head. He set down his paintbrush and looked a little scared to be left alone. Apple wasted no time, though, as he already began to rush to the carwash as fast as he could. He kept the phone to his ear and got more worried with quieter Greg got on the other side of the call. It took a minute to get to the carwash. 

The inside of the carwash was wrecked, objects broken and scattered across the floor. Apple dropped his phone when he noticed blood on the ground. Many drops of blood stained the floor all over and a small puddle was flowing from behind the counter

He quickly ran to the counter and hopped over, only to see his dad laying on the ground. Greg was covered in dark purple bruises and his head had been split open, bleeding out. He also had a huge hand mark on his throat. Apple covered his mouth, shocked at the sight of Greg and it took him a few moments to snap out of it. Apple got down on his knees by Greg. He didn't mind the blood getting all over his pants, all that mattered was his dad. He put his hand in front of Greg's mouth to check for breath. Nothing. He put his ear next to Greg's mouth to check for breath. Nothing. He put his ear against Greg's chest to check for a heartbeat.....Nothing. 

Apple lifted his head and stared at his dad. Tears flowed from his eyes and he quickly hugged his deceased father. Apple sobbed and cried. Under his breath he asked, he pleaded, he begged for his dad to get up and be okay. No matter how much he asked, though, Greg did not get up. Greg did not open his eyes. Greg did not hug Apple back and assure him he was alive. He just laid limp, unmoving, and bleeding out.

Apple sobbed and sobbed, practically screaming out his grief. Soon those screams became real as his corruption spread. His whole left arm became purple and his right hand's corruption spread all around his hand, stopping a bit below his wrist. It burned. It _burned_ His corruption on his face spread, climbing down right below his ear. Blood trickled down his face as horns sprouted from his head. The transformation was painful, but that wasn't the pain he was focused on. Apple calmed his screaming a minute after his corruption stopped moving and went right back to mourning his dad as if he hadn't been disturbed at all.

It took about 15 minutes for Apple to compose himself again and he let go of his dad. He was now covered in his dad's blood, but it didn't matter to him. What mattered now, was revenge. Whoever did this was going to pay. He knew his father would never have deserved something like this. It was unjust, and he had his mind set to make it right. Apple stood up and gave his father one last teary-eyed glance before stepping over some broken objects and making his way out of the carwash. As he left the carwash, questions began to flood his mind.

_'Who would do this?', 'Why would someone do this?', 'What did he do to deserve this?', 'Who did this to him?'_ , Apple asked himself. That last question lingered for a moment, before a familiar female’s giggling rang through his ears. _'Spinel.'_ Apple glared at the air and clenched his fists. His eyes began to slowly darken as he thought about how much he wanted to shatter her again.

Apple started marching back home. He lifted his hands and summoned a hexagon in between them. As he moved his hands slightly, the hexagon changed shape. Apple's eyes narrowed while he focused before the hexagon became a knife. Apple kept the hexagon in a knife shape for a few moments before grabbing it out of the air and holding it tightly. The new knife has distracted him from a bigger problem, however. As he approached the beach house, the area got a bit hazy. Apple looked at the sky, a dark smoky cloud rising from around the corner of the cliff. Apple ran, kicking sand behind him as he bolted toward the house and his knife disappearing. He turned the corner, and to his dismay, the beach house was burning down.

"COREN!!" Apple shouted.

His cheeks glowed pink and he ran as fast as he could to the house. The quiet sounds of Petunia's coughing was being covered by the crackles of the fire. Apple called for his son before summoning a bubble around himself and forcing his way into the house. The door broke down and the house shook. Burning boards blocked the way to the stairs, but that wouldn't stop him. Apple backed away, and then he ran toward the boards and threw himself into them, breaking them but also burning himself a little. His bubble popped on impact with the boards. Apple coughed and called for his son again. The pink glow on him grew.

"D-Dad.." Petunia cried from upstairs.

“I-It’s okay Coren I’m coming!” Apple shouted.

Apple ran up, ignoring the horrible feeling of the heat from the fire in the house. The room was full of smoke and ash blew around the room. Apple could faintly see Petunia's figure sitting in a corner, most likely cowering in fear. The small child had no idea how to handle the situation and he began to panic when he saw the mysterious pink glow in the smoke.

"Coren-" Apple coughed. "C-Corey is that you? Come here"

Apple opened his arms and the glow spread across his whole body, which let Petunia know where to go to get to him. Petunia stood up and ran to his dad, the two embracing for a few moments before Apple picked the child up. He summoned a bubble around the both of them and looked around. The smoke made it difficult to see, but he walked toward where he thought the glass doors would be. When the doors came into view, he backed away. He then charged toward the glass doors and smashed through them. The bubble popped, but at least they weren't hurt from the glass. Apple and Petunia landed on the porch outside, both coughing a lot once they were out of the house.

Apple picked up Petunia and nuzzled him lightly. He jumped off the porch and floated down to the ground, holding Petunia close to him. The small hybrid whimpered and shook in his dad's arms, then Apple started to pet Petunia. It calmed him a little, but he was still shaking. Apple walked away from the house and looked back. He noticed Spinel standing on an edge of the cliff, looking down at the burning house. He glared. Spinel caught sight of the two hybrids and growled.

"UNIVERSE!!" Spinel shouted with venom in her tone.

Apple set Petunia down on the ground and took a few steps away. He lifted his hand toward Petunia and a bubble appeared around the kid. That surprised Petunia and also worried him, as he was not sure if his dad was going to be ok. Apple summoned a knife created with hexagons. It was a sharp transparent, pink blade, shaped similar to Eyeball ruby's chisel. He glared at Spinel and gripped his new knife tightly.

Spinel leaped off of the cliffside and bounced a little when she landed on her feet, a few yards in front of Apple. The two had a staredown. So much went through Apple's mind as he stared at the pink gem. Little nonexistent butterflies flew by him.

_"She killed Dad. She stabbed Coren. She tried to kill you. She wanted to kill you"_ , the butterflies whispered, using Apple’s own voice. Buddy.

Apple listened to the butterflies and his eyes dilated as he kept them locked onto Spinel. His irises glowed faintly.

_"Dad is dead because of her! Avenge him! He didn't deserve it!"_ Buddy told him.

His grip tightened on his knife and his irises gained a blue tint to them along with a brighter glow. The butterflies began to whisper to him, encouraging him to shatter Spinel. To hurt her, take revenge. Apple jumped into the air, a pink glow enveloping his entire body as he did so. When he was about 15 feet in the air, he summoned a floating hexagon being himself and kicked off of it, sending himself flying toward Spinel. He readied his knife as he got close enough and _slash!_

Missed. Unfortunately, Spinel was good at dodging due to her stretchable body, but that wouldn't be able to keep Apple away for long. Apple's eyes were wide, focused on Spinel. He summoned a wall behind her and charged without hesitation. When Spinel backed against the wall, she flinched and looked at it with surprise. When she looked back at Apple in hopes of avoiding him, he was already there. Three feet in front of her was a man that looked like he was on a mission, almost robotic. Apple didn't waste any time, grabbing Spinel's neck and finally getting rid of his empty look and replacing it with the coldest glare she had ever seen. He put his knife against her gem and growled lowly.

"Any last words?" Apple asked, using a lower, much more serious and cruel tone of speaking.

Spinel looked at Apple in fear. "Y-You're not going to do this again are you?"

Apple smirked and tightened his grip on his knife. " **Game over** ", he chuckled.

Apple rammed his knife into Spinel's gem, piercing through the jewel and breaking it to pieces. Spinel yelped and tensed as her gem broke. Her form began to crack badly until she poofed into a cloud, leaving behind the shards of her gem to let them fall on the ground. Apple picked up the shards and separated them into two piles before putting one pile in his pocket and throwing the rest of the shards across the beach.

Apple sighed and looked around. He looked at the house and groaned. They'd need to find a new home and hopefully ask Bismuth to repair it. Apple walked over to his bubble on the beach with a terrified Petunia inside. He wasn't really aware of what shattering was, but the sight of a gem's form cracking sure wasn't pretty to a 5-year-old. He especially didn't enjoy the view of his dad's eyes. Completely dark and a faint blue tint, not anything Petunia had ever seen before. Apple's bubble popped and he looked at Petunia.

"She's gone now-" Apple started, but cut himself off as he looked around the area. Butterflies began appearing everywhere, and all started heading toward Petunia. Apple watched them and glared a tiny bit. The butterflies clustered up and formed Spinel. She looked at Apple and glared at him, which caused him to take a step back. 'Spinel can't be here I just shattered..' Apple thought to himself. The fake Spinel went to Petunia and grabbed him, and Petunia began calling to his dad for help.

Apple ran toward Spinel and Petunia, shouting "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" before swinging his knife at the fake Spinel. A few moments after, he eased on his glare. The blue tint left his eyes and the hallucination of Spinel disappeared along with any remaining butterflies. He returned to reality, and in reality, there was Petunia on his knees covering his left eye and screaming while crying. Apple took a moment to process what had happened before dropping his now bloody knife and letting it disappear back into light. Apple stared in shock at what he did.

Petunia curled up on the ground while still holding his eye and screaming in the agony of it being cut. It didn't take very long for Petunia to pass out. From shock, blood loss, or lack of air because of all the crying and screaming, it wasn't clear. Apple picked up Petunia and kissed his head near his eye. It seemed that the bleeding stopped and possibly the wound healed, but he didn't know for sure. After taking half an hour to process everything that had happened, Apple carried Petunia to the carwash. While he let Petunia rest outside, Apple had to take his dad's car keys. A hard task, stealing car keys from your dead father. But he did it anyway. Apple left the carwash, picked Petunia up once again, and brought him to the van.

Apple set up the mattress in the van for Petunia to rest on and laid the child down. He closed up the van and went to the driver's seat, starting up the engine afterward. He teared up a bit, but took a deep breath and drove away from the carwash and out of Beach City.


	2. A Broken Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Apple decides to get help to get back on his feet, he's met with another issue caused by Spinel from when she disappeared for a couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING - Gem shards, Death implication, Mentions of a corpse, Mentions of blood, Mentions of death
> 
> I really lost motivation for this chapter so rip-

One day. Only 24 hours had passed ever since the house had burned to the ground. It was unable to be saved in time and everything was gone. The two hybrids slept in Greg's van. While of course Apple was grieving his dad, there wasn't much time for him to be depressed while he needed to be able to support Petunia. All of their belongings had been burned in the fire, and Apple had no clue on how to get back on track. Apple had reluctantly gone to his dad's car wash and took anything that could be of value. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep them alive for a bit before he could get a job. A wallet with a good amount of cash, Greg's guitars, all of his keys, and some of the sound equipment Greg had laying around. 

It would have been a good idea to go to the storage unit, but after Greg's body was discovered it wouldn't be possible without being caught. Sure he didn't commit the murder, but he was covered in Greg's blood and had some of his belongings. Apple seeing his father's corpse multiple times was hard for sure, but he also started to numb himself from the sight of a dead body, or the sight of blood. It did hurt a lot internally, but he kept a cold and empty gaze. It was something Buddy would continuously address. 

_"So you don't care about him anymore, huh?"_ The single white butterfly had asked in Apple's own voice, resting on the dashboard of the van. Apple was driving. He maintained his neutral expression, only slightly tightening his grip on the steering wheel as a response. He didn't feel like talking to Buddy after what had happened, especially with Petunia napping in the back of the van. 

_"It's not very respectful to steal from dad's corpse, y'know"_ Buddy said in a deadpan tone. 

"I needed to..." Apple responded lowly. He kept his eyes on the road.

_"That's no excuse. You stole from dad and you decided that you shouldn't care about him anymore"_ Buddy said. He sounded a little more upset compared to his usual tone that he uses for teasing. Normally he'd say these things with a smug face on some form that'd irritate Apple, but for some reason, he wasn't. Apple noticed, but didn't mention it. 

"So what? It's better to move on quickly than to hang onto it for forever. We saw that with the gems and look at what happened to them.." 

_"So that's it? Does dad not matter anymore? It's not that simple, Steven you can't decide not to be sad.."_

Apple sat in silence for a moment. "All that matters to me right now is keeping Coren safe..." 

Buddy didn't speak after that. He stayed on the dashboard while Apple drove, but about half an hour after the short conversation the butterfly had disappeared.

Apple had no clue as to where we was going. There was no plan. He had very little knowledge about the adult human world and it was terrifying to enter society after having no lead up to it. He never went to school, he had never gotten a home, he had never gotten a job properly. The only jobs he had in the past were on the boardwalk, and he was only allowed to work because he was good friends with the employer. He knew nothing about how to apply, or even if he could without any legal documents what-so-ever.

Apple sighed and pulled over onto the side of the road. He sat back in his seat and stared while lost in his jumbled thoughts. 'What am I supposed to do now?' He thought to himself. A small white butterfly appeared and flew over his head. It landed on one of his horns. 

_"You should get help"_ Buddy advised.

"Why should I even listen to you? The only thing you're good for is making me feel bad," Apple rolled his eyes. "I can do that by myself now.." 

_"You are lost with no clue as to what you need to do to keep yourself and Coren alive. Don't be an idiot, and get help"_

Apple groaned, falling forward and letting his head fall onto the top of the steering wheel in despair. He didn't like it when Buddy was right, but he had to put up with it and follow his advice anyway. Apple sat up and took his phone out of his pocket. After unlocking the phone, he went to his contacts. 

One of the first names to appear on the screen was a contact labeled "Dad". Apple stared at the contact, his thumb hovering over it. His heart felt as if it was going to break at any moment, but he forced himself to ignore the feeling. Apple scrolled down all the way down to Pearl's contact, then called. Strangely, Pearl did not answer. Apple had almost never been sent to voicemail before, which made him feel uneasy. While it was completely possible that she was busy with the school, the assumption didn't feel right. 

A sliver of panic hiding in Apple's mind was enough to get him to worry. He called again. A second time the call was unanswered. He continued to call, getting sent to voicemail over and over again. Apple stared at Pearl's contact, questioning if she was alright. Apple sighed. _'She's probably busy. She's her own gem she can take care of herself',_ he thought. Peridot's contact caught Apple's attention. He began trying to call Peridot, and then Lapis, and then Bismuth, Amethyst, Garnet..but no matter how many times he called there was no answer.

Apple stared at his phone for a minute, his thoughts trapped in a prison that only allowed anxiety to pass through. He turned off his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket. He turned around the van and started driving straight to Little Homeworld. 

Buildings were destroyed, vandalized, gems cowering in fear of others. A new rebellion had begun, and it was growing. While the rebels were small in numbers, the message they were leaving was making gems question their beliefs and spreading around alarmingly fast. A symbol was spread all across Little Homeworld in different forms. A diamond with an X crossing through it was etched into the ground, a singular pink diamond also crossed out was spray-painted on a wall. Apple parked the van and got out, looking at the place he had built being torn apart. Two unfamiliar panicked voices called out to him. 

"Steven Universe!" It was a pair of Jades, distressed and fearful. They were running toward him, but when they stopped Apple had noticed they kept a distance. 

"Is it true?" One asked. "Did you really shatter a gem?" The other elaborated. Apple froze and his eyes widened. "Spinel told everyone.." He mumbled to himself. The Jades stared at Apple, taking that response as a yes. 

"What's going on here? What happened to Little Homeworld?" Apple asked them. The Jades looked at each other, then back at Apple.

"A group of rogue gems is rioting and spreading rumors of era 3's purpose...We can't tolerate your name being slandered in such cruel ways, so we're leaving Earth" 

Apple looked around at the aftermath of the chaos once again. _'Bismuth would be upset..' _, He thought. He felt a chill crawl up his spine when he remembered the gems not answering his calls. Apple looked back at the Jades.__

__"I need to check on someone..will you both be okay?" Apple asked them. Both Jades nodded._ _

__"Don't worry about us," One of the Jades said. "We'll be fine"_ _

__

__"You should be more concerned about your own safety. Those gems aren't the friendliest" The other warned him._ _

__Apple simply gave them a single nod of understanding. Without saying more, he walked away and headed more into Little Homeworld. He glanced back at the van, making sure Petunia wasn't awake and behind him ready to follow. The two Jades held hands and fled the area. Apple turned back around and continued moving forward. The rubble of buildings crunched underneath his feet as he walked and his eyes stung as he repressed tears that were so desperately trying to fall._ _

__Apple froze when he noticed some shiny rocks on the ground scattered in a pile of debris. Shiny rocks...Apple gasped and ran to the pile, picking up the shards of a gem. They were in pretty big chunks, so reconstructing the basic shape of the gem was fairly easy. A hexagonal gem, dusty brown with a couple of light swirls in it. He recognized this gem._ _

__"Biggs..?" Apple asked under his breath. He held the shards securely in his hand and began searching for more pieces. To his dismay, more shards of different gems appeared while he searched. Little Larimar, Crazy Lace Agate's components, and Snowflake Obsidian. Apple's eyes widened when he realized that these were crystal gems._ _

__He held Biggs' shards tightly and began sprinting toward Bismuth's shop class. His eyes glowed faintly and slowly darkened as he ran past more of the crossed-out pink diamonds. His body was enveloped with a pink glow and time seemed to slow down. Apple arrived at the shop within seconds, but when time sped up again the pink did not go away. The shop's door was wrecked, but still sturdy and when he attempted to open the door it wouldn't budge._ _

__"Bismuth, are you in there?" Apple asked, putting his head near the door._ _

__"Steven? Is that you?" Bismuth's muffled voice asked from the other side._ _

__"Steven?!" Two other voices exclaimed from the other side as well, excited and relieved. Bismuth moved objects out of the way of the door and slid it open. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot all lit up when they saw him. Apple quickly walked into the shop and Bismuth closed and blocked the door again. He smiled lightly when the three gems initiated a group hug._ _

__"Steven you're safe!" Peridot yelled while tightening her arms around him, incredibly relieved that he was safe. Apple flinched, his hand being cut from the shards after being hugged. Everyone noticed his flinch and let go of him, giving him a puzzled look._ _

__"Are you alright?" Peri asked._ _

__"I'm fine.." Apple said, lifting his fist-full of basically a dead body. He looked at Bismuth with sorrow in his eyes and he revealed the shards. Bismuth teared up and gasped lightly. She gently took the shards from him._ _

__"Biggs...?" Bismuth asked under her breath. Apple nodded lightly._ _

__"There are shards of crystal gems all over.."_ _

__"That would make sense.." Peridot said. "There's a rebel group going around Earth and causing a lot of...trouble"_ _

__Apple looked at Peridot and Lapis. Lapis hugged herself for comfort._ _

__"Gems are being shattered for sticking up for you...We were able to hide thanks to Bismuth but.." Apple could feel his heart sink. He waited for Lapis to continue, but she wouldn't._ _

__"Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are gone.." Bismuth finished. Apple teared up and took a single step back, he was completely shocked. He repeatedly mumbled "No no no no" to himself over and over again as he began to cry._ _

__Apple grabbed his hair and tugged on it tightly. Tears rolled down his face and he silently cried, making the three other gems tear up as well. The world felt darker, colder. He felt more lonely. Quiet whispers played in his ears, voices demanding different things. Some were angry, some were sad, some were scared, and some were even relieved. He could hear demands for revenge, some pleading for himself to hide, quiet sobs, and the thoughts of Coren's safety being at risk. Apple hiccuped, as he cried, and he listened to the voices._ _

__"T-That was my family.." Apple whimpered. He sniffled and gripped his hair tighter. _"That was my family."_ He repeated in an angrier tone._ _

__"Steven, I don't know what you're thinking, but you have to be careful.." Bismuth said, taking a step forward with a concerned look._ _

__"That.... _ **that BITCH"**_ Apple yelled, a blast of pink energy being shot around him and knocking all three of the gems against the nearest wall. The floor cracked beneath him. His eyes glowed brightly, the diamonds in his eyes turning white. He glared at the three other gems. _ _

__"Gems are rebelling because of HER! She couldn't stop with just dad, oh _noooooOO she just had to get the gems shattered, and probably a majority of the rest of the crystal gems too!!_ **Now a group of gems wants me dead, AND THEY PROBABLY WANT TO KILL COREN AS WELL!!** " Apple shouted, raising his voice the longer he went on. He clenched his fists tightly._ _

__"Steven, please calm down, I don't think yelling is going to keep us hidden very long" Peridot panicked, whispering in a panicky tone._ _

__"It's going to be okay, Steven. We'll find a way to make it right, just like we always have" Lapis said in an attempt to comfort him, despite herself not entirely believing it. "Even if it takes time"_ _

__Apple shot a cold, dead glare at Lapis before bubbles appeared around his fists. He punched the wall, a giant dent forming, and then he turned toward the exit._ _

__"We don't need to hide..." Apple growled. _"If those pebbles think they can kill my family..."__ _

___**"Then they can come and figure out what being shattered feels like..."** _ _ _

__Apple moved the door to the side and stomped his way back to the van, having only one goal in mind. _Protect Coren.__ _


End file.
